I am pleased to announce that I am done with my finals for school. For the few who know I attend currently attending college at Nevada State College out here in Henderson NV for Business & Psychology. Since I am done with school it’s that time again to celebrate another awesome summer with my friends and family.

This year I plan on getting into… Djing! Yes, disc jockeying has been an interest of mine for about the past 8 months and it has been put on the backburner until I actually had time to look more into my new hobby. I learned how to use my beginner turntable (Ion Discover DJ) and may be putting up a mix in the next few days for people to checkout.

Take care,

- Justin J.

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This last week as well as this upcoming week I will not be adding any more videos until I am done with my finals. I do have, however, some future idea’s to incorporate in this website as well as some others.

So far I have passed my Finances class which was really a struggle for me since I did bad in the Mid term for it. I did end up making up for it it and ended up passing the class with a 75%. My other classes are still to be announced.

- Justin J. (aka HxaX)

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Tomorrow I will be posting a video about spill-over costs and karma. On a side note I have one week left until my finals are over with and I get to enjoy my 4 months of summer. I thought I would make a post before I go to bed tonight to comment on how awesome life is and to note that I will be making some more side projects sites soon.

Stay tuned.

- Justin J.

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Today I added a few new features of the site such as a contact form and some upgraded security. I realize this isn’t probably worth posting but I thought I would add a reminder to my local Henderson / Vegas visitors that I do a little computer web design and repair on the side. You can find more information under the “Web Design” Page on your right hand side.

Today I am hitting Caesers Palace’s pool! It should be pretty fun. Finals are approaching so I am getting kind of nervous on how my grades will end this semester. I already Aced my Econ class (it was an accelerated schedule class) and am struggling with Finance. I have faith my grades will work out in the end though.

Have a fantastic day people.

- Justin J. (HxaX)

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I have been meaning to make a post about something… nutritional lately and I did not really know where to start. So I thought to myself, why not start with what I already know?

Nutrition is important. We all only have one life, one vessel, and one opportunity to live healthy. As I may be perceived as the most nutritional person of my group I do try to adopt more and more habits that will benefit my overall health for current day and for the future.

First let's talk about sleep

I believe everyone can agree that sleep is important. “There is no rest for the wicked”. Well unless your a criminal I will try to convince you to sleep.

As I posted in a few articles earlier, there are many reasons why we should get sleep at night and at an appropriate time. Obesity, productivity, and energy levels are all associated with the quality of sleep and the amount of sleep you can get. Let’s start with quality of sleep. Your quality of sleep is important. When I asked my biology professor at Nevada State College why I am still tired after sleeping 9-10 hours a day for 5 days in a row, his answer was simple: your quality of sleep sucks. Think about it. A hundred years ago when the only adults who really stayed up all night (that was not associated with their current job / career but rather their lifestyle) they were mostly “wicked” people, criminals or thiefs but for conversation sake let’s just say they were up for very unproductive things. Your typical supper time was about 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and you would be in bed by about 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. and wake the following day bright and early at 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. a little after or during sunrise. This was the natural lifestyle for people during the late 1800s to mid 1900s. When you wake early you have more time to get what you need done before your day actually “starts”. For instance, last night I went to bed at 10:30 p.m. and woke at 8:30 a.m. That is 10 hours of sleep and waking a sort of appropriate time. The result? I am wide awake and after doing an hour and a half of homework, a shower, a workout, chores, etc. And I am writing this at 11:00 a.m. with all my priorities for the day straightened out. Personally I feel as if I have time to workout (fight obesity), do all of my homework and chores (productivity), and have a good level of energy (8-10 hours of sleep). I do not believe I have to go any further in this to explain why it’s important to get your sleep.

Then... let's talk about drinks

I don’t necessarily mean alcohol entirely but also soda, energy drinks, and coffee.

When it comes to food and drinks we can basically find research on any of them claiming how it’s bad for us in the future. Saying that I am merely going to base this paragraph on my own experiences and what I have heard just as I do 99.9% of the things I blog about. First let’s talk about soda. Soda has been a worldwide beverage that has touched tongues across the nation with two big beverage producers Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. Both of these producers has moved their products to hundreds of different countries around the world. As many drink Soda like it is water it is advised to be drank in moderation. If you look at nutrition labels (I will have to do an article on that later on) you can see how much sugar is packed into just one can or bottle of soda. An average can of coke has 41 grams of sugar in it which comes out to 10 teaspoons of sugar per can of coke (4.2 g / teaspoon). Have you ever tried taking sugar and putting in something that tastes nasty? I believe the biggest example of this is coffee. As I am a HUGE coffee person myself I often find myself loading it up with liquid coffee creamer and/or sugar when it’s available to me. Reason being? It tastes… great! Coke and other soda are no different. That amount of sugar, from a biology perspective, destroys enzyme connections in not only your belly but also your brain which basically means it destroys proteins which are essential to your body. And for those who are working out and trying to look good by the pools this summer… soda actually bloats your stomach out (if your thinking “I’ll just drink diet!” guess what? It’s more carbonated which means it’s worse than regular coke.. try again!).

Energy drinks are pretty self explanatory. They have what soda has in it plus some extra caffeine to keep you going. After reading an article online about the dangers of energy drinks I found that energy drinks actually had some really good ingredients in it for you as well! But be warned, energy drinks are still a new sensation to the market and many are still unaware of it’s true remedies and herbs that are contained in the drink.

Common Energy Drink Ingredients:

Ginseng – A root that is believed to help reduce stress and increase energy levels.
Carnitine – An amino acid that helps to metabolize fatty acids.
Gingko Biloba – Created from the seeds of the gingko biloba tree, it has been shown to enhance memory.
Taurine – A natural amino acid produced by the human body. Taurine helps to regulate normal heart-beats and muscle contractions. Its effects on people when consumed as a drink additive remain unclear.
Inositol – A member of the B-complex Vitamin that assists in the relaying of messages between cells. Inositol is not a vitamin itself.
Guarana Seed – A stimulant that grows in Brazil & Venezuela which contains high levels of caffeine.
(Source: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-dangers-of-energy-drinks/)

The last drink on my article… alcohol! Now keep in mind I am coming from a nutritional standpoint not from a lifestyle standpoint. Alcohol.. as soda bloats you out. It also has a lot of calories in it because… it has hops! Regardless to say alcohol is okay in moderation but keep in mind it does the same thing that soda and energy drinks do for you: destroys protein cells. According to one of my old biology teachers and well, the general public, it also destroys brain cells. Proteins (or enzymes) are all connected in a way throughout your body which is beneficial to your health. When you drink alcohol you are destroying these enzyme connections along with the proteins that go along with it. These proteins are efficient for memory, coordination, and signaling your brain to do complicated processes. Binge drinking goes without saying that it makes this process about 50x worse. I would suggest that to the people that do binge drink to really keep an eye on your health in about 10-15 years.

Conclusion: Part 1

As I said in the introduction this is my already acquired knowledge of some health tips I follow. Read them and follow them if you please. Just keep in mind you only have one body in this life and if you would like to live a long happy life it would be a good idea to keep the same state of your body as you would your state of mind.

Comments appreciated, cheers.

- Justin J. (HxaX)

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It’s not rocket science when I tell you that an early bed time gives you a lot more time to catch up on some sleep. But through all the tossing and turning and just laying there and looking at the wall you may wonder, “just how beneficial is it for me to go to sleep this early?”

So let’s start breaking out the research!

In an Australian study from ScienceDaily.com, a study that consisted of participants ages 9 through 16 were used to measure their amount of sleep, what time they slept, and what their body weight was. The research found that children who went to bed late and sleep in late were 1.5 more likely to become obese than those who went to bed early and got up early. The study also found that people who went to bed late were more physically inactive (no more morning workout!) and more than 2.9x more likely to develop unsafe media attention (such as watching TV, video games, etc.) Video games… I can understand but not physically fit?? I enjoy my morning workouts!

Here is some other research found by the Australian study:

“Early-bed/early-risers went to bed 70 to 90 minutes earlier, woke up 60 to 80 minutes earlier and accumulated 27 minutes more moderate to vigorous physical activity each day than late-risers.
Late-bed/late-risers watched TV, played video games or were online 48 minutes longer each day than early-bed/early risers, primarily between 7 p.m. and midnight.
Only 12 percent of late-bed/late-risers had an average of two hours or less screen time per day, which is recommended for children and teens by the Australian Department of Health and Aging. In comparison, 28 percent of early-bed/early risers met the recommendation for screen time.
On a broad scale, late-bed/late-risers replaced about 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity with 30 minutes of sedentary behavior each day, relative to the early-bed/early-rise group.
Body-mass index (BMI) scores were higher in late-risers than early-risers, and late-risers were more likely to be overweight or obese.
Late-bed/late-risers tended to have few siblings, live in major cities, come from lower household incomes and have a part-time job.”

Even if you do get your “8 hours of sleep” it still matters when your getting that sleep! Ever notice how these “night owl’s” sleep about 10-12 hours a day and STILL feel tired?

I’m sometimes a hypocrite when writing articles like this. I sometimes find myself out way past my wanted bed time and staying up doing homework way past when I should be. But when I can I do try to maintain an “early to bed, early to rise” life style. And so should you!!

Have a great day people, feel free to comment.

- Justin J.

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Life

As far as a “life update” goes there is nothing too new for me besides trying to bulk up for the summer. Prior to my new gym membership I have always disliked the idea of working out with other people and waiting to this machine or that machine. The idea of a gym was one that was far from my thoughts. But with summer coming along and my garage being… well.. my garage, the idea of working out in extreme heat was not one that would encourage a good workout plan. Therefore I joined Planet Fitness.

Overall I really enjoy the gym. It’s on Sunset and Stephanie which is about 10 miles away from my house. The membership that I purchased allows me to bring a friend anytime I wish to workout with me for free. Along with other benefits such as massage chairs and tanning beds. I am very a very satisfied customer!

Website

As far as my website goes I have renewed my yearly subscription to my server. I decided this year that I may want to get back into creating websites as a hobby. As many know I am also going into music production in which would be essential to carry on a website with my music projects.

Unfortunately, I do receive a lot of negative feedback on my blog. It seems users are more concerned with my punctuation and grammar mistakes rather than the overall content of the post in itself. I do not feel it’s essential to exactly share what they have posted but I would like to remind the bulk of these users make the same themselves. A lot of the posts I receive have grammatical, spelling, and just plain confusing content. I suppose all of us have something to work on.

I disabled any viewing of all of my past articles. Confusion is definitely not something I would like to bring to anyone reading my blog.

I have received some positive feedback from a few users which is an awesome plus. I will not back down from writing whatever I wish because quite frankly… it’s the internet.

Have a great day!

- Justin J. aka HxaX

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